The UCI and Discovery Sports Events announced that the fifth and final round of the new Track Champions League that was scheduled to take place on December 11 in Tel Aviv, Israel, has been cancelled.
Health restrictions introduced in Israel have forced the nation to close its borders due to the appearance and spread of a new coronavirus variant known as Omicron.
"The UCI would like to thank the organisers in Tel Aviv for their cooperation in this exceptional situation, as well as the riders, teams and all parties concerned for their understanding," the sports governing body wrote in a statement Thursday.
Two rounds of the Track Champions League have already taken place in Mallorca, Spain, on November 6, and in Panevėžys, Lithuania, on November 27.
Germany's Emma Hinze and Great Britain's Katie Archibald continue to lead the overall standings in the women's sprint and endurance categories, respectively, after the first two rounds.
Sebastian Mora (Spain) moved into the lead of the men's endurance overall standings, after the second round, while Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) increased his lead the men's sprint standings.
A round that had been scheduled to take place in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, on November 20, had already been cancelled because the velodrome is being used as an essential community COVID-19 vaccination centre until the end of the year, according to a press release.
The third and fourth rounds of Track Champions League are set to take place in London on December on 3 and 4, which will close out the new series. The riders’ final classification prize pool is unaffected by the cancellation, organisers confirmed in a press release.
